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The 10 Surprising Housing Markets Poised to Rule in 2019

The real estate market is slowing down. Crazy annual price spikes are waning, more properties are hitting the market, and there are fewer buyers to compete with. Everyone is wondering what that means for 2019. Will all long-frustrated, aspiring homeowners finally be able crack open celebratory bottles of Champagne? Will sellers find profit margins shrinking?

Well, no. As it turns out, not all markets are slamming into reverse. In fact, there are still housing markets expected to be white-hot in 2019—and realtor.com®’s economic team found them. These are the 10 top superstar metropolitan areas* where both the number of sales and prices are expected to jump in 2019, bucking the national slowdown trend. And many of these are not the places you’d expect to go gangbusters.

Nationally, we’re predicting the number of overall home sales to decrease by 2%, after years of steady climbs. Meanwhile, prices, which have been steadily zooming up over the past few years, will rise only by a paltry 2.2%—thanks to already meteoric prices in many parts of the country, along with the rising mortgage interest rates and tax changes pricing more buyers out of the market.

So what’s cushioning next year’s overachiever metros from this type of deceleration? They all have extremely strong economies and hordes of new residents moving in, and most are relatively affordable. That makes them attractive to West Coast and some Northeastern denizens fleeing shockingly high home prices, taxes, and costs of living. Retirees are trekking south to warmer—and cheaper—climates. And transplants and career seekers are chasing booming areas with plenty of job growth.

Only two metros graced both the 2018 and 2019 lists. Las Vegas took the top spot last year, but fell to No. 7 in 2019. Meanwhile, Lakeland, FL, climbed from fifth to first place this year.

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